Study: Underprivileged kids worse off in D.C.

WASHINGTON — D.C. ranks last in the United States in ensuring the safety and education of its underprivileged children, according to a new study from WalletHub, an online business information company.

The District has one of the highest percentages of children in foster care and in single-parent families, the data show. It also has one of the highest percentages of children who are maltreated, below the poverty line and “food insecure.”

Moreover, D.C. has the highest infant death rate in the nation, and children in the city are more likely to be part of homeless families, compared with other areas.

“Low-income children are disproportionately African-American, Hispanic or recent immigrants,” Gail F. Melson, a Human Development and Family Studies professor at Purdue University, told WalletHub. “And sadly, there is actual hostility toward these groups, among some sectors of the political class.”

Conversely, Virginia has the lowest percentage of children in foster care in the U.S., according to the study. Maryland was second behind New Hampshire for having the lowest percentage of children living below the poverty line.